Cessna 177 -B

I don't see why a type club couldn't put up $ to pay for a DER. Survey the members and ask for assistance in exchange for the data. It will help maintain or improve fleet prices in the long run.
a couple points:
there were only a little over 4 thousand of these made, few have problems, methods already in place fix the problem.
 
Ask the experts at cardinalflyers.com. I have owned my '68 Cardinal for 8 years and love it. Lots of room and easy to fly. My recommendation is price the engine, airframe and avionics separately. Then add them up. The airframe sounds like it's in good shape-$13-15k; the engine in pieces maybe $3-5K; and whatever the avionics come in at.
 
Ask the experts at cardinalflyers.com. I have owned my '68 Cardinal for 8 years and love it. Lots of room and easy to fly. My recommendation is price the engine, airframe and avionics separately. Then add them up. The airframe sounds like it's in good shape-$13-15k; the engine in pieces maybe $3-5K; and whatever the avionics come in at.
the cardinal club wants 45 bucks to join, not likely to simply to ask questions.
This aircraft has set 20 years, todays prices are very much higher than what was paid when these parts were bought. to buy the engine parts at todays prices is more than the total project is worth.
To price this project your way, you'd have 30 grand invested before you got it home.
 
I sent this e-Mail to a long time friend, he has an empty hanger and likes C-177, to see if he was interested in bank rolling the project.

Here is the deal…
----------- was working on a 1975 C-177-B his kid wants to sell the project. It is not a retrct. it is a fixed gear 180 horse.
The engine is susposed to be ready for assembly with all new or re-worked parts ( I have not seen this = yet to be verified.)
The interior is removed and as I can see pretty clean. The fuselage and wings are stripped and ready for paint. the paper work is in order, the N is ------

It is a project, but cheap. you have a hangar and I have time.

Top of the market on a fixed gear is about 50k there is room to bring it in under budget.

His return

Familiar with the plane...I paid for it once from him for about 26K and he never completed it, never paid me back for all of it...still owed me 10K which I eventually wrote off.
How much do they want for it?
Is ----- still alive?

my answer to him..

No he died last September his kid is selling it.
I did not know it was the same aircraft we talked about so many years ago.

So... With this kind of stink on this aircraft It's not anything I want to get involved with.
 
Penny-wise and pound foolish.
it may be a great place for owners that need the advice. but when investigating 1 aircraft, not so much, specially when the info is available other places.
 
it may be a great place for owners that need the advice. but when investigating 1 aircraft, not so much, specially when the info is available other places.

I deleted because I saw you were going to walk away.

But, if you really thought you were going to proceed, spending 40 bucks would have given a lot of information to help you evaluate this several thousand dollar potential project. There is a lot of information there that would save you a lot of heart-ache. Since you're passing for other reasons, it's moot now.
 
I deleted because I saw you were going to walk away.

But, if you really thought you were going to proceed, spending 40 bucks would have given a lot of information to help you evaluate this several thousand dollar potential project. There is a lot of information there that would save you a lot of heart-ache. Since you're passing for other reasons, it's moot now.
As an owner possibly.
 
My 68 with plain old 150 horse has been running plain 87 octane ethanol-free gas for about 5 years via Peterson STC.

I don't believe any of the 177Bs are STC for autogas, even tho the O-360-A1F6 (and D) can run 91 <I think>
Oh Man,, I missed this,, what is the useful load of your 150 horse 177? vs the 180 horse B
 
Oh Man,, I missed this,, what is the useful load of your 150 horse 177? vs the 180 horse B

Not much different. Typically the B is loaded with junk and of course the CS prop is heavy. I weighed a 76 177B which just had leather seats, carpet, 1/4 inch windshield, full soundproofing kit and it's useful was about 10 pounds less than mine.

I like flying that 76 B model but little spendy for the performance IMHO. He's got over $60k in it with old radio, older engine & prop.
 
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Not much different. Typically the B is loaded with junk and of course the CS prop is heavy. I weighed a 76 177B which just had leather seats, carpet, 1/4 inch windshield, full soundproofing kit and it's useful was about 10 pounds less than mine.


Aha so that's why the 177A has the highest useful load. Now it all makes sense - no CS prop on the nose... thanks!
 
Aha so that's why the 177A has the highest useful load. Now it all makes sense - no CS prop on the nose... thanks!

I was looking at MT propellers for kicks and didn't find what I was expecting, no two blades for 180 horse 177 only three blade, which only saves about 14 pounds over the stock McCauly IIRC, I was thinking more like 25 pounds but no dice.

Some of those Mt prop STCs save like 40 pounds, too bad no super lightweight STCed prop for 177/B
 
the cardinal club wants 45 bucks to join, not likely to simply to ask questions.
You don't' have to be a member to ask questions. Just get on the mailing list and send in a question. You need to join to have access to the database.
 
Have discovered a 177B that was in restoration when the owner A&P-IA Died, it has been setting for a few years.

Question is simple, what are they worth restored?

Take a look at V-Ref. You'll see that airframe hours, engine hour, and avionics equippage will vary the value from $25,000 to $75,000. So, you want a guess? Say $50,000?

Paul
 
What would you use as a reference to gain field approval ? This is a stressed skin on a cantilever wing. I don't believe the FSDO would ever give their blessing...

How about the Service Manual? That's usually the go-to source for aircraft repairs. Not surprisingly, the Cardinal service manual includes guidance from Cessna on how to add inspection portals to the wings. That would be a GREAT place to start your quest for an approval basis.

Paul
 
the cardinal club wants 45 bucks to join, not likely to simply to ask questions.

The Cardinal Club has been defunct for about a decade, ever since the late John Frank bought the organization and shut it down. I wouldn't recommend sending them money; the good news is that dead men don't cash checks, I suppose.

www.CardinalFlyers.com is only $34/year. It's an odd mindset that one is about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an investment, but doesn't want to spend a percent or so of that for the information to evaluate the value of that investment. But, so be it...

Paul
paul@cardinalflyers.com
 
The Cardinal Club has been defunct for about a decade, ever since the late John Frank bought the organization and shut it down. I wouldn't recommend sending them money; the good news is that dead men don't cash checks, I suppose.

www.CardinalFlyers.com is only $34/year. It's an odd mindset that one is about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an investment, but doesn't want to spend a percent or so of that for the information to evaluate the value of that investment. But, so be it...

Paul
paul@cardinalflyers.com
Moot points, seeing as the seller wants way too much for the project.
 
Cardinals (or is it Cardinal owners) seek higher-than-average valuations compared to some other birds. There does seem to be a sliver of justification considering how ideal those high-wing planes are. They got just about everything right. Still, room for improvement...
 
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